City Daily Photo Theme Day: Purple

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo. This month, the theme is Purple. Take a look at how others are interpreting the theme right here. 

I start with these shots taken in Confederation Park during Winterlude. A large screen had been set up for watching Winter Olympics coverage, though this was a night or two before the opening ceremonies. Alongside the screen were LED lights in purple.

At one entrance of the park, shifting lights illuminated evergreen trees that had been placed there. I caught them as the light was shifting into purple.

Lights also shift gradually over the ice sculptures. Blue was turning into purple when I took this shot of a sculpture.

A few blocks away, and on my way home, I noticed a car that had been given an exterior design that looked like something from space. There was purple in the mix, and I concentrated on that.

One night during that month, I was coming back from a walk on the Rideau Canal and was passing by the Canadian Museum of Nature. Some of the streetlights had purple bulbs, which were lighting up the main entrance.

I took these two shots of ice sculptures on Plaza Bridge, part of a set of sculptures that had been set up for Winterlude. Blue coloured lights were gradually shifting into purple.

Later that same evening, I was back in Confederation Park. The place gets decorated for Christmas not with lights in the trees, but coloured shifting spotlights on the trees, and they left them on for Winterlude. 

An underpass beneath the 417 was painted for Canada 150 back in 2017. I'd never photographed it, but this section, with a purple triangle, fit the bill.

And I finish with this toque for the PWHL, the women's professional hockey league, with its lettering in purple.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Sky

The beginning of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for June, that theme is Sky. See how others are interpreting that theme right here.

To begin, I took this one morning in the first half of January before dawn at Lansdowne Park, with light in the east starting to brighten up the day.

In late January, I was passing along the National Gallery of Canada headed towards Major's Hill Park. I noticed this set of evergreens which occupy a portion of the Gallery property, covered in snow, against a slate grey sky, with snow falling. I composed the shot to only include trees and sky.

I moved into the park, where I photographed across the frozen Ottawa River towards Gatineau, with the Museum of History on the far shore, composing the shot to let the sky dominate things.

And did the same here, turning around and photographing towards Notre Dame, with the bare trees a contrast against the sky. There were hints of blue in that sky.

I took this on a night walk of the Rideau Canal during Winterlude in February, with an emphasis on the sky, with a mix of clear and light cloud, and some visible stars.

On two February days, I was around Lansdowne Park, and I took this sunrise shot at the east end of the property.

On the second occasion, I was at the west side of the property. I noticed the crescent moon, and lined up a shot, framing the sky with the office building at right, the stadium north stands at left, and the south stands in the background.

A March morning close to home, with the sun not yet up.

A short bus ride away, and the same morning.

Here we have the same location, but another morning, with contrails being lit by a sun yet to rise above the horizon.

And yet another morning in April, this in the pre-dawn at Lansdowne Park. This is taken from the west side of the stadium. Over at the east side, it's a construction site, with a new event center being built before the north stands are taken down and rebuilt. It'll be a long process.

I took this sky shot for the clouds on another day.

One day in early May, I noticed how dramatic the sunset was getting, lighting up the underside of clouds from the west. With not much time before the light gave out, I took two shots from my apartment windows. It was a cotton candy sunset.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Entertainment

 The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for April, that theme is Entertainment. Check out how others are interpreting the theme right here.

I start with some Winterlude content from February. I was in Confederation Park one night late in the festival, and on stage, buskers were playing with glow sticks to fiddle music. One was on stage at this point.

His partner joined him.

The following day, a visit to Jacques Cartier Park over in Gatineau was in order. Arriving, I noticed the DJ on this elevated stage. She was doing an activity in which she was playing music, telling the audience to dance- and to freeze in place when the music ended.

Then she started playing Cotton Eye Joe. I moved away as quickly as possible. That song is a crime against humanity.

When I was leaving, I came across this busker getting his act started.

Back in January, I attended a screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at Lansdowne Park. It included a live orchestra and choir doing the music. I took shots as the orchestra was warming up, and then again during the end credits.

These two I take from the archives, originally posted in 2017. The National Arts Centre is very much the heart of culture in the city, a national institution. That year they opened an expansion onto the building for Canada Day, and that day, walking around and exploring was possible. I took this shot from the balconies high above Southam Hall, the largest of the performance spaces within.

This was another one of the performance spaces, Asper Theatre.

This last shot was taken in late October in Southam Hall. I attended a concert of classical music and film score cues, all with a very Hallowe'en vibe. Before things got underway, the musicians were warming up their instruments. And all of them were in costume.

Finale

 The Laurier Avenue Bridge nicely frames the final stretch of the Rideau Canal.

I've always liked a spiral staircase. This one descends down to the path along the Canal from the bridge above.

I took this shot from beneath the last bridge before the skateway ends- or begins, depending on your perspective- the Mackenzie King Bridge.

The Ottawa Convention Centre looms on the east side. Branding rights being what they are, these days it goes by the Rogers Centre. It is a marvelous, modern building.

On the west side, the National Arts Centre.

A look again to the east side, where the Government Conference Centre stands. These days, it temporarily houses the Senate.

The end of the line, kilometre 0.0. Beyond is Plaza Bridge, and in the distance, Parliament Hill.

I turned back again.

And then once more where I'd been walking to.

I headed off the Canal and up the slope alongside the National Arts Centre, taking this final shot. A fitting ending for another year for Winterlude.